Jeff Strand's novel, Benjamin's Parasite, starts off with a teenage boy, Brian, going through a series of strange events (yes, even strange for a teenage boy) that ultimately land him getting shot in the end. At Brian's funeral, his teacher, Benjamin Wilson, shows up to pay his respects and notices that Brian's body appears to have exhaled! He leans in closer and sure enough... he feels a gust of air hit him in the face! This would be enough to freak anyone out, but Benjamin tries to keep his cool and get out of the funeral home without causing a scene and avoids saying anything to anyone. Over the next several weeks however he starts getting several strange cravings and the next thing he knows he has a spell at school that lands him in the hospital. While in the hospital he gets "abducted" and soon finds out that this person isn't the only person that is after him. He learns that he is actually hosting a parasite that is of interest to several parties. Unfortunately for Benjamin, he doesn't know who has his best interest in mind so he isn't sure which person to trust in this situation where he is being fought over and is being pulled back and forth a lot. The question is... will he and/or the parasite come out alive at the end of the chase?
This is probably Strand's fastest paced book yet and is a lot of fun to read. It is full of action with the struggle between all parties involved within the book. In true Jeff Strand style there is also a ton of laughs to go around so his fans will not be disappointed. In particular, there is a scene where Benjamin visits a hardware store and has some very strange ideas that I just wouldn't believe anyone would even consider, but... Strand did! In addition to the humor, there are also the typical gory scenes that Strand always spaces out so perfectly to not disgust the readers TOO much. There are also dramatic scenes in the book that will allow the reader to sympathize with characters... especially a particular turtle name Tortie. Plus there is a feel for a bit of romance within the book as well! So... Strand really went all out with this book and crossed a bit of all genres. Highly recommended!
Contains: Violence, Mild Gore
(Review also posted on MonsterLibrarian.Com)
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